City says league violated its relocation policy when it approved the team’s move

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Fans in the Black Hole root for their team against the New York Jets in the second quarter of their NFL game at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, Calif. on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)

City Attorney Barbara Parker on Tuesday filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against the team and the league, a suit city leaders hope could net millions in damages and pay off the approximately $80 million in debt remaining from renovations at the Coliseum.

It may also send the on-again, off-again Oakland Raiders packing early for Las Vegas.

Parker said the NFL violated antitrust laws by approving the move to Vegas and the team’s departure goes against the league’s relocation policy.

“The defendants brazenly violated federal antitrust law and the league’s own policies when they boycotted Oakland as a host city,” Parker said in a statement. “The Raiders’ illegal move lines the pockets of NFL owners and sticks Oakland, its residents, taxpayers and dedicated fans with the bill. The purpose of this lawsuit is to hold the defendants accountable and help to compensate Oakland for the damages the defendants’ unlawful actions have caused and will cause to the people of Oakland.”

Oakland City Council had earlier voted to authorize Parker to file the suit, along with outside law firms. Two fan groups, We Stand with Oakland and Forever Oakland, led by Raymond Bobbitt and Gregory “Griz” Jones, first called for legal action.

“The NFL has a long history of misusing its tremendous market power in violation of antitrust laws,” Quinn, the lead attorney from Berg & Androphy said in a statement. “This time the NFL defendants violated their own bylaws in their effort to cash in on the Raiders’ move. Oakland is standing up to this unlawful and disloyal treatment by the league owners.”

Quinn has had success in other suits against the NFL. In another case earlier this year, a judge in Missouri ruled in favor of St. Louis officials suing the Rams for relocating to Los Angeles.

But legal victories in antitrust cases against the NFL are rare. Stadium expert Roger Noll, professor of economics emeritus at Stanford University, earlier said the only successful antitrust suit by a city against the league was LA Coliseum vs. NFL, which included the Raiders.

“Many cities have sued to try to block a team from moving, and none have succeeded,” Noll said in September. “Of course, the city (Oakland) may have an interesting, new theory of antitrust harm, so I want to read the complaint before I reach a conclusion about the merits.”

The suit comes as the Coliseum authority is negotiating with the Raiders to extend the team’s Coliseum lease for at least one year. The lease negotiations could include an option to play the 2020 season in Oakland in case the $1.9 billion, 65,000-seat Las Vegas stadium doesn’t open on schedule.

Coliseum authority Executive Director Scott McKibben said the team has “made it very clear” it would not sign a lease extension if a lawsuit is filed.

“The Raiders demand language that assures them the city will not file a lawsuit against them,” McKibben said Tuesday.

Team officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday. Team owner Mark Davis has not returned previous messages on the matter.

Not everyone is on board. Even though the outside law firms have taken the case on a contingency basis, meaning it comes at not cost to the city, critics worry Oakland would not be covered if the Raiders filed a counter suit.

Former Oakland Councilman Ignacio De La Fuente, who is currently on the authority board, previously called the lawsuit “ridiculous” and said Oakland may not be financially covered if the NFL or the Raiders counter sue.

“You are going to expose the city to potential liabilities and for what?” said De La Fuente.

It’s unclear where the team would play in 2019, if not at the Coliseum. Noll said there are no attractive options in the Bay Area or Las Vegas. Seating capacity at college stadiums are smaller than the Coliseum, he said.

“In this case, the Raiders would be sacrificing a lot not to stay in the Coliseum, so the issue is how much it is worth to them to retaliate against the city on their way out of town,” Noll said. “As a business proposition, moving next year makes no sense.”

The lawsuit has been in the works since July closed session vote of the Oakland City Council. It passed 7-0 on a motion from Noel Gallo, which was seconded by Larry Reid. Lynette Gibson McElhaney abstained.

Gallo, Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan, Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley and state Assemblyman Rob Bonta were early supporters of the legal action.

In her statement, Parker said NFL teams have shared $1.47 billion in “relocation fees.” To move to Vegas, the Raiders agreed to pay $370 million to the league and its team owners.

“The NFL relocation payment scheme is an improper bribe that the NFL receives for allowing relocations and to pit cities against each other,” Kaplan said. “This is a wrongful system and they should not be allowed to keep those bribes.”